Sparked by Disappointment of '14, Badgers Get Chance They've Wanted vs. Kentucky

LOS ANGELES — Last fall, a few weeks before the official start of practice, Wisconsin standout Sam Dekker made a subtle alteration to the Badgers locker room.

Without notifying his coaches or teammates, Dekker removed the chair with the "Wisconsin" emblem that rested in front of his stall at the Kohl Center and replaced it with something that bore a more meaningful inscription.

"2014 NCAA Final Four" read the logo on the chair Dekker used throughout his junior season—the one he brought back from Arlington, Texas, last spring following Wisconsin's 74-73 gut-wrenching loss to Kentucky in the NCAA semifinals.

"It was a reminder," Dekker's father, Todd, said, "of how close they were to winning it all—and of how hard they'd have to work to make it back."

It obviously worked.

One year later, Wisconsin is indeed returning to college basketball's biggest stage, and perhaps it's no surprise that Dekker—the home-state hero from Sheboygan—is the one leading the charge.

In what was easily his best game as a Badger, the potential NBA lottery pick scored a career-high 27 points Saturday to propel his squad to an 85-78 victory over Arizona in the West Regional Final at the Staples Center.

Dekker made all but three of his 11 field-goal attempts and was 5-of-6 from three-point range. No shot was bigger than the 22-foot dagger he swished in front of his team's bench with 17 seconds remaining. The basket gave Wisconsin an 84-76 lead and momentum it would never relinquish.

Dekker winked at his coach, Bo Ryan, after the ball ripped through the cotton, and then he strutted a few steps before jogging down the court.

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

A few feet away, teammate Josh Gasser caught the attention of former NBA All-Star Reggie Miller, who was providing color commentary from press row. Gasser pointed toward Dekker, and then to the area, ahem...below his waist.

"Sam's got stones," he told Miller, "just like you."

Dekker chuckled when told of the exchange after the game.

"It's fun when you're in a zone," Dekker said. "You feel like you can do anything out there."

And, yes, that "anything" includes conquering the gargantuan task that no college basketball team has been able to accomplish this season, the challenge Wisconsin nearly overcame last year before floundering down the stretch.

Beating Kentucky.

In a game that fans of the sport have yearned for all season, the Badgers will get another crack at the No. 1-ranked and undefeated Wildcats when the teams meet in the NCAA semifinals next Saturday in Indianapolis.

Excited as they are to be playing Kentucky, Wisconsin's players said a national title—and not a rematch with the 38-0 Wildcats—has been their driving force all season.

"We're not going to back down from anybody," Dekker said. "Obviously they're a great team, the best team in the nation right now. But I think we're a pretty good team, too.

"People are going to talk about revenge, revenge, revenge. But that's not going to be the case. We're just going to try to get a win and go to the national title game."

Still, make no mistake. Last year's setback to Kentucky—and the heart-breaking fashion in which it occurred—has served as a motivator for the Badgers the past 12 months.

Whether it was during offseason workouts, weight-lifting sessions or in clutch moments on the court, not a day has passed when they didn't visualize Aaron Harrison's game-winning three-pointer tearing through the net with 5.7 seconds remaining in Kentucky's one-point victory.

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Perhaps that's why Wisconsin's players didn't go overboard with their postgame celebration following Saturday's win over Arizona. They cut down the Staples Center net, crooned along to the school fight song with their fans and returned to the court an hour after the buzzer to take pictures with family members...the basic stuff.

Overall, though, Gasser said the Badgers had a "little bit different of a feel inside" than they did after advancing to the Final Four in 2014.

"Last year," Gasser said, "it was, 'We're on top of the world!' This year it's more "Unfinished Business."

Forward Nigel Hayes agreed.

"We were just excited to be there last season," Hayes said. "This year we're excited to try to win it."

Wisconsin knows it will have to play its best game of the season to beat a Kentucky squad that is commonly being referred to as one of the best teams in history. The Wildcats boast nine McDonald's All-Americans and could have as many as five players selected in the first round of this summer's NBA draft.

Yet as dominant as Kentucky has been, pundits all season have pegged Wisconsin as the No. 1 threat to the Wildcats' hopes of college basketball's first undefeated season since 1976.

Harry How/Getty Images

In Frank Kaminsky, Hayes and Dekker, Wisconsin has enough size and talent in the paint to match Kentucky's imposing frontcourt. The 7-foot Kaminsky (who scored 29 points Saturday), along with Dekker, is a surefire first-round NBA draft pick, while Hayes may eventually rise to that status, too. All three post players excel away from the basket.

And perimeter players Gasser, Traevon Jackson and Bronson Koenig have as good a chemistry as any backcourt in America.

Realizing how close they came to beating Kentucky last season (even though the Wildcats roster is slightly different) should also give Wisconsin a confidence and swagger with which most of Kentucky's opponents don't operate.

"I think we match up well with anyone," Jackson said. "When we're playing at a high level, I don't think there's any team we can't beat."

Arizona found that out firsthand Saturday, when Wisconsin made 10 of its 12 three-point attempts in the second half and 12 of 18 shots overall from long range. The Badgers shot 78.9 percent from the field after intermission and 55.6 percent for the game.

"I'm not sure how we did that, honestly," said Gasser, who was one of the players celebrating with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a diehard Wisconsin fan, on the Staples Center court moments after the final horn.

When reporters attempted get a few thoughts from Rodgers on the game, he declined and ducked into a tunnel, a move that was certainly understandable. This was Wisconsin's moment in the spotlight, the Badgers' time to shine.

It's a feel-good story, to be sure.

In an age of one-and-dones and player transfers, the Badgers are somewhat of a throwback. Four of Wisconsin's top six players are seniors and juniors. And their selflessness on the court and unity off of it make them impossible not to like.

As he stood on the podium and presented the West Regional trophy to the Badgers, NCAA president Mark Emmert couldn't help but smile. 

"They're fabulous ambassadors for college basketball," Emmert said. "This is obviously a very strong team."

Strong enough to beat Kentucky?

We'll know soon enough.

"We were stripped of our chance at a title last year," Dekker said. "We don't want that to happen again. We still have the mindset that we have a lot more basketball to play."

If that happens, Dekker will have a new chair to put in front of his locker.

One with a different meaning.

Jason King covers college sports for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JasonKingBR.